Little Things Make Us Happy

Little Chip

We have a little lady in our home who will be two on the twenty fifth of October. She is a fiesty, independent and utterly adorable little second born, full of mischief and giggles and what we Irish refer to as ‘divilment’.

Betsy was born only eighteen months after Gigi, swinging us wildly from a one child family adapting to life with a baby to a white water rafting style of parenting that two under two can incite.

I never fancied white water rafting.

Not very trusting of water.

This doesn’t mean that I had a choice. Staying afloat whilst perversely riding the rapids one moment and coasting calmly through the peaceful waters in glorious utopian snatches became my world. Always ready for the next thing or always desperately looking forward to the next full cup of hot coffee.

Betsy’s personality bounds from her tiny frame as she elfishly beams at all around, fearing no one.

Hi Lady!’, she announces cheerily.

‘Bye bye Man!’, she declares winningly

Many smiles greet our happy fairy as you can imagine.

She is different and exactly alike her older sister in so many ways. I imagine like my own baby sister and I. The same but different. Related but individual.

A similarity would be determination. Neither will be swayed away from their opinion too easily.

One difference they may have is their varying abilities to choose whether to clamber the levels of bravery to foolhardy degrees. Gigi will employ a certain amount of caution. Betsy will charge in vigorously to whatever the challenge may be, disregarding all potential signs of danger that may be poking out ominous feelers of sinister warning.

This has consequences.

Toys that Betsy receive should not be delicate. She is capable of destroying delicacy within breaths hence an Ariel wand that her sister had just been given. Seconds. Broken. Should I mention the unintentional decapitation of Cinderella? It is Halloween after all… turn away now if you have Delicate Disney Disorder.

You were warned.

Betsy is the little girl that you left climbing into the car seat who will wind up in the driver’s seat.

Betsy is the precious little sprite who will easily grapple past the challenge that is the fireguard (we don’t light the fire ever but there is a granite piece that could be dangerous if a fall occured) and you will find her inside the area cordoned off for her safety.

Betsy is the child with a broken front tooth. I mean, I celebrated the day this tooth arrived. The joy and relief of seeing that milky white pearl glistening in a vulnerable candyfloss coloured gum much like the oyster’s jewel primly perched on a fleshy bed. I celebrated with A First Tooth on my blog just over a year ago.

Now it is broken.

Hence the nickname Little Chip.

The tooth was chipped in a game Betsy was playing called Pushing Your Toy Deckchair Around the House At Top Speed aka Keane Reeves on a Life Saving Mission. All went well until Betsy hit a door stop and flipped out over the chair. Gigi was so impressed by this circus trick she laughed heartily and helplessly.

So we have a child with a broken front tooth and possibly a missing front tooth if she has more trouble with it. She has developed an abscess so far which was dreadful for the poor mite. The tooth may yet be removed to avoid a reoccurrence.

So this is the little girl who I think will climb the tree. Attempt to scale the wall. Eventually ride the rapids herself. Voluntarily. An adventurer. A potential explorer, game changer or influencer to coin a modern phrase.

At the moment she is just my cuddly little Betsy who snuggles into my arms demanding milk and Spot Goes on Holidays with a charming toothy grin.

She is adorable!! My second son is the fireball in our family, I went on to have a third (my daughter) so now J is the ‘middle child’ and so many people love telling me about the trials and tribulations this involves. I don’t listen because I love how unique, opinionated, and fiercely loyal he is. Your little chip sounds wonderful in every way.

Our children have such a wonderful spirit about them. I enjoy watching my son grow and see how his adventorous spirit guides him. Loved reading about your daughter wishing her a great next year ahead and many more adventures.

Hi Betsy! I have my own little one full of the divilment. He is a destroyer, but because it’s through science and discovery I let it go. He throws things on the floor because he wants to try and put them back together. Obviously this doesn’t always work – ha!

I’ve loved a lot of your posts, but this one made me giggle and warmed my heart. My own son chipped his front tooth at abut eighteen months, but he just fell onto his high chair at an odd angle. Betsy’s adventures and fearlessness definitely lead me to agree with you–she’ll charge through life for the love of it. Like Hayley, I can’t wait to see who she and her sister become while you and Mr. Paper help them both navigate the rapids of life.

I can relate perfectly to your post. Had two kids of our own, and both similar but yet so different.
Our daughter had a bicycle accident at age 4-5 with an ear totally ripped in two while her little brother (2½ years her junior) stood by and seeing all the blood and her not moving or reacting to his call. She is my daredevil child and at age 18 had another incident with a dirt bike, and this time had a way more serious injury which ended up with an 4-hour surgery and pins and rods in her lower back. But she is fine and doing well, just a miracle in itself.

Hope you’re Little Chip will have no further accidents. Happy birthday in advance to your little girl

Not to worry girl – they grow up and do have the bumps in the road. Its part of growing up and me old in a week, but do not let that stop you from having Santa bring your little one a bike. They do need to experience it

Beautiful piece. I love your writing. Little Chip sounds like the kind of little girl who will grow up to move mountains! As nerve-wracking as it must be to be her mama, we need people like her in the world! Happy early Birthday to her!

I’m sorry to say this, but Little Chip may just go through a few more chips in her childhood. Betsy sounds just like my daughter (who just turned 7). My daughter is still decapitating Barbies (most are intentional, I hate to say), has lost four out of eight baby teeth while wrestling her brother, and does everything at 150% – running, competing, coloring, singing, acting, etc. She is a great soccer player (football?) and scored 18 goals in 6 games last season. My husband has lovingly given her the nickname “Mighty Mouse”. So, even though she has given me many heart attacks, she is just so much fun. I bet Betsy is a lot of fun too. 🙂

She sounds like a real character and is turning into a feisty, strong little girl. As she grows this will stand her in good stead and she will undoubtedly hold her own and enjoy life! We have recently gone through the teenage girl friendship group problems – girls can be so horrible – but like my girl, I am certain that Little Chip will flourish and with her fearless temperament will not have to follow the crowd. Hope you all enjoy her birthday – the time flies!! x

As a retired teacher, I enjoyed reading this post so much. I love children–their enthusiasm and creativity. What I love most about the post, however, is that you value the differences in your children. Each is special in her own way; each will make a difference in the world. Hopefully they will always treasure the sister bond.